NFLPA will hold pre-draft game in Los Angeles

Posted by Josh Alper on November 7, 2011, 4:28 PM EDT

Reuters

Professional football is coming back to Los Angeles.

Sort of.

The NFLPA will hold a game in Los Angeles on January 21st featuring 100 draft eligible players split into two teams coached by Super Bowl winners Tom Flores and Dick Vermeil. The two men haven’t faced each other in a game since Super Bowl XV, when Flores’ Raiders beat Vermeil’s Eagles 27-10 in New Orleans.

“The NFL Players Association wants this to be more than just a game, they want it to be a NFL educational experience,” Vermeil said. “This will be these players’ first introduction to the National Football League without the pressure of making a team in training camp. By the time they are drafted and go to training camp they will have an understanding of what’s expected of them, having worked with NFL coaches and players for a week. There won’t be anything like this.”

Arash Markazi of ESPNLosAngeles.com has all the details on the game, which will feature a week of practices with current and former NFL players who will counsel players on what to expect when they move up to the professional level. That makes the game, which will be called the AstroTurf NFLPA Collegiate Bowl, similar to the Senior Bowl but there is one big difference.

The NFLPA game will also be open to underclassmen who make themselves available to the draft. That could mean players like Andrew Luck, Landry Jones and Justin Blackmon could play in the game, although it is far too early to start speculating on just which players will declare and whether they would put themselves into the game.

The other big thing about the game is the location. It will take place at the Home Depot Center, home of the MLS’ Los Angeles Galaxy and Chivas USA, but it is impossible to take any forays into Los Angeles as mere coincidence given how much chatter there is about putting a team back into the city. The fact that the Home Depot Center is owned by AEG, the group trying to build a new NFL stadium in the city, is another sign that there’s something more afoot here. NFLPA executive director Clark Gaines admitted there was some ulterior motive in an interview with Markazi.

“L.A. has not had a professional football presence for many years and we thought it would be a perfect opportunity now that they are trying to bring football back to L.A.,” Gaines said. “This might be a boost in that effort. Having a team in L.A. is very important and if we can help in any way we will.”

Whether or not this game helps that cause remains to be seen, but there will be an NFL vibe in L.A. next January for the first time in a long time.

Bad idea for top ten guys to play in for obviouis reasons. Good idea for those whose are trying to bring up their stock. It will be like a combine and it will give some guys a chance to maybe bump up in the draft and make a little extra $$$. We all know how important that is in the today’s NFL

Another Senior Bowl? I wonder who would care about another all-star game in which everyone is really avoiding injury rather than trying to win. I used to love the old college all-star versus NFL champion games that they used to play up until the 70’s. The college players truly wanted to win, and the pros would not allow themselves to be humiliated. It will never happen again.

bunch of 6th, 7th and probable undrafted free agents will be playing this game. why risk injury if you’re projected to go in the top 3 rounds? i probably wouldn’t risk it if I was projected to go in the 4th or 5th round unless I had a good chance of showing that I’m over an injury and could jump up a round or two.

Actually joejoe, if you paid any attention, both teams departed of their own choosing. LA, and LA football fans, did not have much choice in the matter.

The Rams left LA for money. Their Rams former owner, the finally departed SeaHag, couldn’t make enough money here in LA fielding piss poor teams living off past glory so in order to continue to afford her yearly facelifts she bolted to St Louis, where they were desperate/stupid enough to make it rain.

The Raiders left because of Al Davis. No one understands why he bolted back to Oakland, but money was definitely a huge part of it.

Don’t believe the media crap about LA. There is a lot of support here for football, as much as any other large city.

P.S. When it’s all cold and snowy soon wherever you live, I’ll be working on my tan here in LA. Have fun shoveling snow, I’ll go buy another bottle of sunscreen and shed a tear for ya.

A. We are not trying hard (we’re practically being given a new stadium).
B. We care even less about everyone else out there.

A majority of SoCal’s enjoy the double headers in HD every Sunday a heck of a lot more than going to a game for a team we barely care about (whatever team that is). Primary reason we want the new stadium?

A. Most of us aren’t LA County residents. As the population is primarily in the surrounding suburbs. Thus, no extra taxation for the majority out here.
B. Get a chance to attend a Super Bowl every 4-5 years.

Yes, the connections to AEG’s messed up downtown stadium proposal makes me laugh. First of all, ESPN’s Arash Markazi is a big time cheerleader for AEG’s stadium plan, writing biased articles in their favor. Second, the downtown stadium would use AstroTurf plastic grass because space constraints would require a domed roof design. Third, AEG runs the Home Depot center field. I sure hope the NFL draft players don’t get injured on a fake AstroTurf field right before they have a chance to make the draft..

This is likely to make more underclassmen who aren’t ready for the pros (aka Darius Walker) declare for the draft, since they normally don’t get to participate in the “Bowl All-Star season.”

While people may think this is going to be another game of “scrubs,” I’ll take whatever NFL draft fix I can get, and I think it’s a pretty cool thing that some underclassmen with “upside” will get to participate in an All-Star game with an NFL atmosphere / coaching.

So if you are projected to go in the 5th 6th or 7th rounds you’ll show up in the hopes of getting drafted higher otherwise there is no way in freaking hades your agent is gonna let you go out and play in this game.

I just hope the ticket prices aren’t something ridiculous like a hundred bucks or something. I keep wishing I could afford to go to an NFL game but the prices are outrageous and my small business is suffering. 😦

I wish I could tell you that the draftees played the good game, and the Injury Bug let him be. I wish I could tell you that – but Exhibition Football is no fairy-tale world. Robert Edwards never said who did it, but we all knew. Things went on like that for awhile – Exhibition Football consists of routine, and then more routine. Every so often, Players would show up with fresh bruises. The Injury Bug kept at them – sometimes he was able to fight ’em off, sometimes not.